Families began preparations for their students' return to school during the annual Back to School event Saturday at Office Depot.

The event featured several local vendors and organizations who gave away and raffled off school supplies, including four fully-loaded backpacks, teacher supply boxes, laptops, desktops and tablets.

"We try to make it a little bigger every year and just try to provide something to the community," said Savannah Sundell, customer service manager of Cañon City's Office Depot. "Outside of the raffles and giveaways, we also have coupons and extra discounts going on inside the store, too. We're just trying to encourage everyone to get the school year kicked off right."

Emily Davis, 7, decorates a notebook provided by local realtor Jenny Gatzke during the annual Back to School event Saturday at Office Depot. (Carie Canterbury/ Daily Record)

Saturday's event also offered free hot dogs and activities for students and families.

This was the third year Gigi Strength of Twisted Scissors Salon offered free haircuts for students. Last year, she cut hair for at least 75 children, so this year she brought another hairdresser to lend a hand.

"I do it for the babies, of course," Strength said about why she donates her time and services each year. "They have to have fresh, clean, nice haircuts for school. I try to fit in one good deed a year, and this is it."

Realtor Jenny Gatzke of the HomeSmart Realty Group offered for the second year free notebooks for students to decorate.

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"They use stickers to design their own so that they don't get mixed up with their brothers' and sisters' notebooks or with the other kids' notebooks at school," Gatzke said. "It makes fun."

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